The Widow's Cruse

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Pastor James May

THE WIDOW’S CRUSE

I Kings 17:8-16

8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

Introduction:

Elijah had been sent by God to be ministered to by the Widow of Zarephath. In return for her faithfulness and obedience, the widow received much more than she gave. God expects our best, but not just our best; He expects our all in service to Him and to one another. Sometimes giving sacrificially of your self requires more than we believe that we can give. But god never asks anything of us that He is not willing to give to us in the first place.

God’s methods of bringing blessing upon His children are unlimited. None of us would have ever gone to a widow, a single parent raising her son alone, and asked her for the last bit of food in the house knowing that both she and her child were hungry and destitute. What kind of a Preacher would show up uninvited at your home and ask for your last dollar?

There are those who would do that, but those who do so are regarded as hirelings and money grabbers. While I concur with this thought, I must also be quick to say that we do not always understand how God will bring the blessing to our lives.

8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee

God was in complete control of this entire scenario even before it began. He had already begun to prepare the circumstances that would bring about the hunger and thirst of Elijah that would force the prophet to move on from His comfort zone. Elijah had stayed by the Brook Cherith and been fed by the ravens from “God’s Table” and drank the cool water that God had provided. Elijah may have stayed there for much longer than necessary and the work of Lord may have suffered because of His inactivity.

I want you to know that God still prepares your way ahead of you. Nothing comes to Him as a surprise. The Bible says in Psalms 37:23-25, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."